Papers relating to Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury and the Religious Society of Friends

This section contains correspondence and papers relating to Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury and the Religious Society of Friends during the twentieth century. Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury came from an Evangelical Quaker background and married into one of Birmingham's most prominent Quaker families shortly after her thirtieth birthday. Her approach to philanthropic work and social questions was shaped by her Quaker faith which formed the foundation and motivation underlying her work towards social reform.

As a young woman, Elizabeth Taylor was an active member of Peckham Meeting and was involved alongside her parents in public philanthropic work promoting temperance and supporting the extension of educational opportunities for young people. Following her marriage to George Cadbury in 1888, Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury moved to Selly Oak and then Northfield, becoming closely involved with local meetings of the Religious Society of Friends, particularly Bournville Meeting, throughout her life. Scott remarks that 'the Meeting for Worship at Bournville' became 'the centre of Elizabeth's religious life' where she took 'a leading part in the vocal ministry'. During the early years of the twentieth century Taylor Cadbury was responsible alongside her husband for founding Woodbrooke, a residential Quaker college established in the house and grounds of their first family home in Selly Oak which opened in 1903. Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury was also involved with the work of a number of related institutions which developed around Woodbrooke, including Kingsmead, which providing training for Quakers undertaking mission work overseas, and Westhill which offered training for Quaker Sunday School teachers. These were followed by Fircroft, a residential college for working men which opened in 1909.

Many papers in this section relate to Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury's association with Warwickshire North Monthly Meeting, particularly the formal recognition of her role as a Minister of this Meeting. Correspondence and papers relating to the history of Quaker Meetings in this district, including references to the village institutes established by George Cadbury in Northfield, Selly Oak and Stirchley during the early 1890s, are also included in this section.

Much of the correspondence featured here relates to debate surrounding the membership of the Religious Society of Friends in the World Council of Churches during the late 1930s, including correspondence between Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury and the General Secretary of the Council, Reverend William Paton. Taylor Cadbury was enthusiastic about the development of union and co-operation between Quakers and other religious denominations. She publicly advocated the Society of Friends joining the World Council in 1938, writing a letter expressing her views to the Society's journal 'The Friend'. This section contains correspondence relating to the publication of Taylor Cadbury's letter including letters from family friend John Henry Lloyd.

Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury was closely associated with a number of prominent Quakers throughout her life, notably her American cousin the academic Rufus M. Jones, and international peace worker Carl Heath. Letters from both Jones and Heath written during the 1930s feature in this section, including a letter which Jones wrote to Taylor Cadbury about the issue of Quaker membership in the World Council of Churches. Taylor Cadbury wrote to Heath in 1931 concerning a meeting of the Friends' Service Council. In addition, the section includes a letter written by Taylor Cadbury to Heath in 1940 in which he provides a detailed personal insight into his views on pacifism within Quakerism.

The section also includes a letter written to Taylor Cadbury's biographer, Richenda Scott, by the librarian of Friends' House in London and a letter written by W. E. Cossens of the Cadbury Publications Department relating to Taylor Cadbury's personal papers.

Finding number: MS 466/163/1-32

Information about Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury and the Meeting for Worship at Bournville and also the development of Woodbrooke, Kingsmead, Westhill and Fircroft taken from Richenda Scott, 'Elizabeth Cadbury: 1858-1951' (London: Harrap, 1955), pp. 99-101 and p. 103. Please note that MS 466/1/1/10 also contains a number of papers written by Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury which relate to her Quaker faith and particularly the role of women within the Religious Society of Friends.